Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Oni Press | Tagged: Agent Cupcake, graphic novel

Agent Cupcake Graphic Novel by Mel Hilario, Katie Longua, Lauren Davis

Agent Cupcake, a "sparkle-spy" middle-grade graphic novel by Mel Hilario, Katie Longua & Lauren Davis, from Oni Press in November 2025

Originally planned for the autumn of 2024, Agent Cupcake is a new middle-grade "sparkle spy" graphic novel coming in November 2025 from the Eisner-nominated Triple Dream Comics team of Mel Hilario, Lauren Davis, and Katie Longua, the team behind Debian Perl, Digital Detective, which they auctioned to Grace Scheipeter at Oni Press back in 2021. Their agent, Dara Hyde of Hill Nadel Agency, represented the creators.

"Twelve-year-old Miguel Mangayayam has always loved one thing: mystical beasts. So he's thrilled when he's hired by the Mystical Beasts Bureau (MBB) to be their first ever human spy, where he'll use his encyclopedic knowledge of hippogriffs, mermaids, dragons, and more to solve the latest cases. Even better? He's partnered with the supercool unicorn superspy, Agent Cupcake! Together, they'll go undercover, gather intel, crack codes, and collect clues to solve the MBB's toughest mysteries. But when they receive reports that unicorns are losing their magical powers, Miguel and Agent Cupcake will have to put their spy skills to the test to figure out why, even if it means going up against a mega-corporation like HOARD. Could someone be trying to steal magic to put unicorns out of business?

"As people who grew up on media like Sesame Street, Schoolhouse Rock, and Wishbone, we've always believed that curiosity, imagination, and whimsy should be part of learning," said co-writer Mel Hilario. "Agent Cupcake blends real-world knowledge about secret messages, social engineering, spyware, and lock picking with a world where a mermaid can run a spy agency, a griffin can help you break into a safe, and unicorns use their magic to craft horrifyingly cute plushies," said co-writer Lauren Davis. "At the same time, it's a very human story about learning how to fail, transforming passion into action, and figuring out where you fit in," said artist Katie Longua.

Triple Dream Comics previously created the computer science–themed graphic novel Debian Perl, Digital Detective. Their nonfiction comic "Trickster, Traitor, Dummy, Doll" was nominated for the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Short Story. Their poster comic series, "Who is San Francisco?" was displayed at downtown bus stops by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Their comics have also appeared in The Nib and Failure to Launch.

Mel Hilario received her MFA in creative writing from Mills College, has been a recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation Grant and residencies at VONA (Voices of our Nations Arts), Las Dos Brujas Writers Workshop, Writing by Writers, and Hedgebrook. She has developed characters for toy lines, masterminded educational workbooks, and written wrenching essays, most recently for the Kindred Souls anthology Angry Women.

Katie Longua has designed toys, developed video games, created logos, illustrated comic book covers, and drawn frame-worthy infographics. Her self-published comics include the award-winning RÖK, Her Space Opera, and Munchies. She's done work for BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Image Comics, IDW Comics, Oni Press, Tapas Media, the San Francisco Exploratorium, Girls Make Games, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates.

Lauren Davis received a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, wrote for several years at the speculative fiction blog io9 and eventually got her MFA in comics at the California College of the Arts. In addition to making comics, Lauren is a teaching artist and a longtime organizer of San Francisco Zine Fest. She also collected, edited, and published the comics anthologies The Comic Book Guide to the Mission and Sci-Fi San Francisco.

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